Beloved Herald critic retires after three decades
One of Australia’s most-read critics has resigned from his role in his latest column, using his latest column to explain why he is giving up “the best job in Sydney”.
Terry Durack is stepping down from his role as chief restaurant critic of The Sydney Morning Herald, and and the SMH Good Food Guide. He wrote for the paper since 1994, when he moved to Sydney from Melbourne. In his time at the paper, he edited eight different Good Food Guides.
Durack writes: “I haven’t told anyone that I am stepping down from my role as chief restaurant critic of The Sydney Morning Herald, until now. Mainly because I know what they are going to say when they hear the news. They’re going to tell me I’m stupid.”
He explains that the financial crunch on the restaurant industry “makes it tough for a reviewer to be tough”, when “everyone is working so much harder, for less.” Understandably, given his 30-year tenure, Durack admits he’s “also a bit over deadlines” and “really looking forward to booking restaurants under my own name.”
He writes: “I was born to be a restaurant critic. When you know what it’s like as a youngster to be both hungry and lonely, you have a special relationship with food that lasts all your life. In my teens, I was living in cheap lodging houses and eating half a can of soup a night. Food has always made me feel better. So when I started earning money, it made sense to seek out ever better food, and to pay attention to it.
“I found I also responded to the particular processes of dining – the rituals, the pacing, the timing, the tension, the theatre, the way staff members resolve issues with grace and humour, the smells, the spills, the whole shebang.
“And I love the writing side of reviewing. The frustration when you can’t quite nail the description of a dish so that the reader can taste it. The satisfaction when you can.”
Durack’s final review for Good Food will run on Tuesday, December 17, which he describes as “a beauty.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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